Heatmiser Smart Home Heating Controls

What is Smart heating control, and do I need it?

For years, many of us have been used to controlling our home heating using a conventional thermostat. This simple device allows you to set the desired temperature, to keep the home warm during the colder months.

The thermostat is usually paired with a timer or time clock, which allows the homeowner to decide what times of day the boiler will be active.

This simple setup allows basic heating control such as; The Time of Day we’d like the home heated, and 1 chosen temperature to heat it to. This works well but has limitations: What if you want your home heated to a warmer temperature in the morning, but a slightly less warm temperature in the evenings? Or what if you are not in your home at a time when the heating would normally be set to come on, but you’d like to cancel it to save heating an empty home?  Or perhaps you are coming home at a different time of day and would like to pre-heat your home before you arrive?  This is all possible with Smart Heating from Heatmiser.

Smart Home heating controls allow you to completely customise how you’d like to heat your home for better comfort and only when you need it. Using smartphone apps gives even more control and the ability to remote control your heating from anywhere in the world.

There are even advanced sensors and controls, such as window sensors which can detect if a window in a room has been left open and stop heating that room to avoid continually trying to wastefully heat the space.

It is likely that in the future all new homes will be fitted only with smart heating devices, for maximum control and energy efficiency.

Who are Heatmiser?

Heatmiser is a British company based in Blackburn and established in 1968, originally starting out as an electrical contracting firm. Today Heatmiser has grown to become one of the UK's leading heating controls manufacturers and lead the way bringing home heating controls into the smart era.

The company are passionate about energy efficiency and through continuous development of their products, are aiming to make heating our homes more efficient by reducing energy usage, saving the planet as well as saving the pennies!

Heatmiser Neo Overview

Neo is the family name for Heatmiser’s range of Smart Heating Controls. The range covers a wide variety of device types, from Room Thermostats, Wireless Temperature Sensors, Multi Zone and Boiler Controllers, Heating Manifold Wiring Centres, WIFI Hubs and Signal Boosters.

The Heatmiser Neo has been designed to suit a home of any size, to make the heating smart, easier to use and more efficient.  This is all possible through the easy connection and operation of the devices in the range. As well as smartphone app control, there is also support for integration using Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and IFTTT, as well as API 3rd party integration for common home automation systems, such as Crestron, Control4 and RTI.

The flagship of the Neo range is the easy to use touchscreen room thermostats, of which there are a few different variations of both wired and wireless.  Both upgrading existing homes and deployment for new build properties is made really easy with the Neo range.

What smart controls do Heatmiser offer and which is right for my home?

Heatmiser offer controls to suit homes of all sizes, which work with the most popular types of heating, including plumbed and electric radiators, water and electric floor heating and even renewable energy systems.

The neoHub mini is a smart heating controls system specifically suited to small homes with a couple of heating zones and/or hot water requirements.  There are two models, one uses a 2 heating zone and hot water cylinder receiver, whereas the other offers on/off and OpenTherm control for 2 heating zones.  OpenTerm is a non-manufacturer dependant communication protocol allowing seamless communication between controls and boilers utilising the technology.

The Neo Hub Mini range is wireless and connects to your home WiFi allowing for app control and compatibility with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.

It’s perfectly suited to small homes, apartments, bungalows etc. and can be easily retrofitted to replace existing conventional thermostat controls.

neoStat WiFi Overview

The neoStat WiFi has been created to be a standalone thermostat, as a digital and smart replacement for conventional thermostats.  No extra hardware is needed to replace your current thermostat with the neoStat WiFi. Once installed, you’ll have the ability to easily set the time and temperature for your heating, as well as benefiting from app control by connecting directly to your home WiFi, no extra hub needed.

You can pair an unlimited number of neoStat WiFi’s to your home WiFi and app, to control multiple zones from anywhere, taking advantage of global functions like holiday & away mode, as well as individual zone control.

The neoStat WiFi allows for smart home integration via Apple Home Kit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa.

NeoStat WiFi is perfect for small to medium size homes, from 1 heating zone to an unlimited number. It’s perfect for retrofitting in place of conventional thermostats but careful checks of the wiring should be made before hand, to ensure there is access to a neutral feed to allow the stat to be powered via 230V. Always check with an electrician if you are unsure.

neoHub System

The neoHub System is perfect for the modern family home, where multiple heating zones exist, up to 32 zones on a single system!  The neoHub System makes full use of a wide selection of heating and cooling devices to allow advanced and easy control of different systems, such as water under floor heating and cooling, radiators, fan coil systems, electric under floor heating all by installing the suitable neoStat for the type of heating you wish to control.  You can add a Wireless Multi Zone wiring centre to simplify connection of up to 8 zones of underfloor or radiator heating, using neoAir thermostats for the zone control.  There is no need for communication cables to be run during the building stages.

With the neoHub system you can take advantage of the range of neo advanced controls and sensors such as the wireless air sensor, wireless window and door contact and neoPlug, a smart plug which also acts as a signal booster for the neo system, great for automating plug in lamps or heaters for example.

The neoStat WiFi has been created to be a standalone thermostat, as a digital and smart replacement for conventional thermostats.  No extra hardware is needed to replace your current thermostat with the neoStat WiFi. Once installed, you’ll have the ability to easily set the time and temperature for your heating, as well as benefiting from app control by connecting directly to your home WiFi, no extra hub needed.

You can pair an unlimited number of neoStat WiFi’s to your home WiFi and app, to control multiple zones from anywhere, taking advantage of global functions like holiday & away mode, as well as individual zone control. The neoStat WiFi allows for smart home integration via Apple Home Kit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa.

NeoStat WiFi is perfect for small to medium size homes, from 1 heating zone to an unlimited number. It’s perfect for retrofitting in place of conventional thermostats but careful checks of the wiring should be made before hand, to ensure there is access to a neutral feed to allow the stat to be powered via 230V. Always check with an electrician if you are unsure.

What components do I need to get started with Heatmiser smart heating controls?

Over the years there have been may versions of heating systems in UK homes. Some use boilers, radiators, hot water cylinders and valves to provide our heating and hot water. More modern systems use Combi boilers to provide heating and instantaneous hot water on demand. Even newer renewable heating sources, like ground or air source heat pumps, and even solar water heaters are yet another method to keep our homes warm and our water hot.

Often there is a mix different styles of heating system to achieve the goal. With this in mind it can be daunting to understand enough about your home heating system to feel confident in choosing smart controls.

If you are unsure it may be worth asking a plumber to help identify your heating system type.

Thermostats

To keep things simple, let’s concentrate on thermostats, as every heating system will need one. The thermostat is important as it’s the only way your heating system can tell what temperature your home currently is. The thermostat is used to signal when the home (or part of a home, commonly referred to as a zone) is cooler than the occupants would like, turning the heating on; and when the ideal temperature has been reached, turning the heating off.

Traditionally thermostats were very basic and the home occupants would need to adjust them to suit their needs. If you left the thermostat set at 19°C this is the temperature your heating would need to achieve before it switched off. If you wanted the heating warmer in the morning but cooler in the evenings, you’d need to remember to manually adjust the thermostat between two temperatures.

Smart heating controls, such as the Heatmiser neoStat WiFI are far more advanced and offer significant benefits. Firstly, they are electronic and digital, giving the ability to more accurately set your desired temperatures. They also have a digital display, which shows your home (or zones) current temperature.

The neoStat WiFi also has a built-in timeclock. This allows the user to set different desired temperatures based on different times of day, and even different days in the week. So if you’d prefer the heating activate later on weekends, or continue later into the evenings on a Saturday, you can!

The neoStat WiFi provides easy setup via the Heatmiser Neo app for iOS and Android.  Simply install the thermostat, download the app and pair your thermostat to your home wifi. From there you can use the app to setup your heating schedules, make manual changes to temperatures in real time, and monitor usage history for all the zones of your home heating (you’ll need one neoStat WiFi per zone of heating you wish to control.

A neoStat WiFi smart thermostat is the perfect first step to any home heating system.

Other Components

Wiring Centres - Used for controlling multi zone heating systems, wiring centres offer an all in one solution for a central wiring point to connect zone actuators (valves) to control the heating flow to up to 8 zones of wet under floor heating or radiators, as well as a hot water cylinder.

Wireless Air Sensor – Used to discreetly monitor the temperature of a room or heating zone, it can connect wirelessly to a neoHub and be paired with a neoStat.

Wireless Contact Sensor – Can be paired with neoHubs and assigned to neoStats to switch off heating in zones where external doors or windows have been opened.

Smart Plug – Can be used to control appliances with a standard UK plug. Pairs with neoHub and can be controlled manually or with timeclock events via the neoApp. Perfect for automatic control of lamps while you’re away from home. It also has a secondary function and acts as a wireless signal booster for other Heatmiser wireless products.

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